Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an object information acquiring apparatus.
Description of the Related Art
Mainly in the medical field, an object information acquiring apparatus that irradiates pulsed light on an object, receives, with a probe, an acoustic wave generated from the inside of the object, and visualizes a form and a function on the inside of the object has been studied. When a user of the apparatus starts an imaging of the object, first, a controller in the object information acquiring apparatus sends a signal to a driving circuit of a light source and causes the driving circuit to irradiate pulsed light. When the pulsed light is absorbed by a light absorbing body on the inside or the surface of the object, an acoustic wave is generated by a photoacoustic effect. The acoustic wave is converted into an electric signal called photoacoustic signal by the probe. The controller amplifies the photoacoustic signal, performs signal processing and image reconstruction processing, and presents a diagnostic image to the user.
As the object information acquiring apparatus, there has been proposed an object information acquiring apparatus of a type for receiving an acoustic wave while scanning a probe. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-179348, a probe including a receiving element group disposed on a spherical surface scans three-dimensionally the periphery of an object to reduce variation in resolution. In the apparatus, a space between the probe and the object are filled with an impedance matching material to allow an acoustic wave generated in the object to efficiently reach the probe.
On the other hand, in the field of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, processing for changing a gain of an amplifying unit according to reception time of an acoustic wave and correcting attenuation of the acoustic wave is generally performed. This processing is referred to as a time-gain-control (TGC) and a curve indicating a relation between time and a gain is referred to as gain curve.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-179348